Abby Huntsman (left) announced her departure from The View talk show on Monday, Jan. 13. She said she quit the show to join her father’s gubernatorial campaign.
But a source tells Page Six the real reason for her abrupt departure was the simmering tension between Meghan McCain (right) and her fellow co-hosts.
“It’s an unhealthy environment – just the way that things are handled during shows and how people deal with each other,” said the insider. “It’s intense.”
The source continued: “Abby made an issue [to executives] about the overall environment. She’s felt for a while that things had to change. ABC treated Abby like s–t, but everyone on the show gets treated like –t. She was smart enough to do something about it.”
The insider said longtime co-host Whoopi Goldberg has also complained about the negative environment created by McCain on the set.
A second insider said that Huntsman described the environment as “toxic.”
According to Page Six, Huntsman joined The View a year ago, around the same time McCain was hired.
But Huntsman made her decision to quit in December after seeing how McCain treated the other co-hosts.
“None of the ladies talk to Meghan now,” a source told Page Six. “Abby was the last woman standing. It’s bad. Meghan’s so rude.”
